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Commencement
Speech (Optional)
 AUS is seeking a graduating senior student to speak at the commencement ceremony June 05, 2008. The university strongly encourages you to participate in this memorable event. If you would like to speak at this event, please submit the first draft of your speech to Dr. Judith Caesar (LAN 256) by April 06, 2008. Deadline to submit the final draft for those who will be short listed is April 20 th, 2008. The speech should last no longer than 5 to 7 minutes (about 1,000 words).
Guidelines for Commencement
Speeches
- Graduation is a formal occasion and your speech
should reflect this. An informal, chatty tone that
might work well for an after-dinner speech is not
appropriate for a commencement address.
- Your speech should have a unifying thesis and
your ideas should be listed in a clear logical order.
Do not simply thank people. You should express ideas
that will help your classmates with the challenges
they will face after graduation.
- You should have control over spelling, sentence
structure and mechanics. Your paper should not,
for example, contain grammar errors or sentence fragments.
Many people will be reading the text of your speech.
- Avoid clichéd metaphors and mixed metaphors.
Do not write “We were like seedling who flourished
in the fertile soil of AUS and now we are ready to
spread our wings and fly.” (Are students plants
or birds, and is either comparison flattering to
the intellectual abilities of the graduates?) And
please don’t compare life to a journey.
- Avoid passive voice constructions, vague adjectives
(marvelous, incredible), and indirect phrases (in
terms of). All of these can make your writing wordy
and unclear. If in doubt, check a grammar handbook
about wordiness.
- Be specific. Instead of saying that many challenges
await the graduates, give examples of some of these
challenges.
- Remember that you are speaking for all the graduates,
not just for yourself.
- Hand in your draft as early as possible so that
the supervising professor can advise you about correcting
and improving the speech. If you wait until the day
the speech is due, the professor cannot help you.
Read samples of commencement speeches, such as the
novelist Toni Morrison’s speech, “Cinderella’s
Stepsisters.” OR from best speech (es) from students who spoke in previous commencements (See attached samples). You may also make an appointment
with Dr. Sarah Shono (NAB248) to view videos of
outstanding commencement speeches.
Good Luck!
The committee will choose five finalists from the
drafts submitted, who will then be invited to audition
their speeches on May 05, 2008. The selected student will
deliver his or her speech at commencement.
Please submit your speech with your contact number
and e-mail address to:
Dr. Judith Caesar
Department of English
Room LAN256
jcaesar@aus.edu
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